Veteran sports writer Jim Utter covers NASCAR for The Charlotte Observer and its racing site, ThatsRacin.com. In this space, Jim writes about all things NASCAR and other forms of racing which may also be relevant ... or not.

Sunday, February 3, 2013

The Daytona beach race course is (temporarily) back in business

This year, the town of Ponce Inlet, Fla., officials of Volusia County and Racing's North Turn Restaurant will stage a parade of vintage race cars and motorcycles on the old NASCAR beach/A1A road course south of Daytona Beach.

The last race held on the beach/road course was in 1958, the year before Daytona International Speedway opened.

The parade will begin at 9 a.m. ET on Saturday, Feb. 16 and is free and open to the public. There is no entry fee for entering a car in the parade. The parade will leave from in front of the North Turn Restaurant, located at 4511 South Atlantic Avenue in Ponce Inlet at 9 a.m. The parade route will follow the NASCAR race course south on Atlantic Ave (Hwy A1A) through the South Turn onto the beach.

Following the parade, race cars will be on display in the Racing's North Turn Restaurant parking lot. Invited racers and others from the Beach Racing days will be signing autographs and will be interviewed inside the restaurant by NASCAR historian Buz McKim. Spectators may park in the vacant parking lot at the corner of Toronita Avenue and Highway A1A and a complimentary trolley shuttle from the parking lot to the Racing's North Turn Restaurant and back will run from 8 a.m. until noon.

The event is open to race cars and race car replicas from model years 1958 and older. Modified cars with fenders are welcome and open-wheel race cars that date from the beach racing era are also welcome as well as motorcycles from that era.